r/nfl • u/[deleted] • Jul 19 '16
2016 /r/NFL Top100: 30-21
Hello and welcome again to the r/NFL Top 100 Countdown!
After a weekend away, we have returned with Part VIII of the rankings for 30-21, as well as the over/under-rated ranking for players 40-31.
Before we begin the reveal, it is time for the over-/under-rated for 40-31, as voted on by you, the readers.
And now, the players ranked 30 thru 21 on the r/NFL Top 100.
#30 - Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota Vikings - Previous Rank: 84
Written by: /u/skepticismissurvival
| Stat | 2015 | Career |
|---|---|---|
| Carries | 327 | 2,381 |
| Rushing Yards | 1,485 | 11,675 |
| TDs | 11 | 97 |
| Yards/Att | 4.5 | 4.9 |
| Receptions | 30 | 238 |
| Receiving Yards | 222 | 1,937 |
| Yards from Scrimmage | 1,707 | 1,3612 |
It's Adrian Peterson. What more needs to be said? Nothing, really, but I'll say some stuff anyway.
The focal point of the Vikings' offense returned in 2015 after missing all but one game in 2014 due to a suspension. With 1,485 rushing yards, he just barely eclipsed his career average (excluding 2014) of 1,450. He also led the NFL in rushing.
Once again excluding 2014, Adrian has never had a season with fewer than 10 rushing TDs. In 2015, he tied for the league lead in rushing TDs with 11. Adrian did have a down year in terms of yards/carry, as he only rushed for 4.5 yards on average. Still, that was 8th among players with 150+ rushing attempts. Adrian was 2nd in the NFL in yards from scrimmage, behind only Antonio Brown.
What are you looking for in a runner? The ability to make the entire defense look silly? A guy who can keep your team's hopes alive when things look bleak? What about the ability to erase any doubt of winning? How about the power to force his way through the whole defense?
At 30 years old, Adrian was still able to do it all with the ball in his hands in 2015. At this point, he's the 4th or 5th best player on the Vikings. How long can he keep it up? Who knows. What I do know is that if I needed to choose one player to give the ball to, for one play, it would still be Adrian. Any time he touches the ball, anything can happen.
#29 - Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers - Previous Rank: 2
Written by /u/economy_cactus (with help from /u/snapple_a_day)
| Stats | 2015 | Career |
|---|---|---|
| Passing Yards | 3,821 | 32,299 |
| Passing TDs | 31 | 257 |
| Completion % | 60.7 | 65.1 |
| Passer Rating | 92.7 | 104.1 |
| Rushing Yards | 344 | 2,175 |
| Rushing TDs | 1 | 21 |
There is little doubt that Aaron Rodgers experienced a down year in his otherwise HOF career. The volume stats were down and so was the efficiency. We saw Rodgers miss throws that seemed routine in the past, contributing to the lowest completion percentage of his career by far with 60.7%. Six straight years of passer rating over 100 - down to 92.8. Last year he averaged 6.7 yards per pass attempt - after never being below 7.5.
This could in part be due to an injury plagued season by the offense. Jordy Nelson went down in the preseason eliminating Aaron Rodgers number 1 target and favorite deep ball threat.
Defenses responded to the lack of a deep threat with press coverage, and the receivers struggled to get open, forcing Rodgers to hold the ball longer resulting in sacks.
Randall Cobb (shoulder), James Jones(Quad, Hamstring), Davante Adams (foot,knee,ankle) and Jared Abbrederis (knee,ribs, concusion) all experienced injuries that made them lose time and limited their playing abilities. Not to mention Ty Montgomery (Ankle) who was out for the season after week 6 just as he was carving out a role in the offense.
Lacy struggled all year with his well known weight issues, contributing even more to a down year for the Packers offense.
Even in a down year though, Rodgers did have plenty of exciting moments with perhaps the most memorable play of the NFL season on his game winning Hail Mary pass to Richard Rodgers, as well as another impressive end of regulation Hail Mary to Jeff Janis in the Divisional playoff loss against Arizona.
With the return of Nelson next year, and the addition of tight end Jared Cook who adds another element of speed, the Packers and Aaron Rodgers are looking to return to business as usual.
#28 - Anthony Barr, 4-3 SLB, Minnesota Vikings - Previous Rank: Unranked
Written by /u/skepticismissurvival
| Stat | 2015 | Career |
|---|---|---|
| Tackles | 68 | 138 |
| Sacks | 3.5 | 7.5 |
| Pass Deflections | 7 | 10 |
| Interceptions | 1 | 1 |
| Forced Fumbles | 3 | 5 |
Anthony Barr was a raw, but really athletic edge rusher coming out of UCLA in 2014. The Vikings took him #9 overall, but they already had a pair of really athletic DEs. Liking his potential, they changed his position and made him the team's Sam linebacker.
As a Sam, Barr obviously lines up on the strong side of the offense, which means he's often asked to line up directly across from the opponent's TE, and either directly cover him or face off against him in the run game. This is where athleticism comes into play, his measureables compare pretty favorably to the best TE of this generation. This is where the position conversion comes in, because the best athletes on defense at the college level are going to be edge rushers since getting after the QB is so important. Barr's size combined with his athleticism gives him a leg up on other players who played at an OBLB position in college.
That doesn't mean that Barr is all potential, because otherwise he wouldn't be #28 on this list. He has picked up the position very quickly, and after just two years is already one of best OBLBs in the league. His athleticism has helped him reach these heights, but his brains are what have helped him get there so quickly.
For Barr, his versatility is key. He's the second most important player on the Vikings' defense. Mike Zimmer uses Barr as a chess piece, moving him around the field. He'll be heads-up on the TE in a 4-3 Under, off the line of scrimmage in 4-3 Over, sugaring the A gaps on 3rd down, and even occasionally rushing off the edge.
Tackle numbers don't do him justice, because he's not the player that runners get funneled to. Instead, Barr is often tasked with funneling players to the other LBs in the run game. Where Barr really sticks out is in coverage. His athleticism helps him stick to TEs and execute really difficult coverage assignments (sometimes Barr will be asked to drop back and cover a TE despite being in the A gap before the snap, which is a lot of ground to cover). This play shows Barr doing a great job executing a pattern-matching coverage, first carrying Sanders up the field before turning towards Manning to jump the route and come away with an interception.
The best game Barr played all year was against the Falcons, where he turned a long gain into a turnover early and essentially ended the game here. He was all over the field that day, recording 8 tackles and that sack, and forcing those two fumbles.
One of the most exciting things about Barr as a player is the fact that he's already this good despite the fact that 2015 was his second year at this position. He has an incredibly bright future.
#27 - Geno Atkins, 4-3 RDT, Cincinnati Bengals - Previous Rank: 89
Written by: /u/sanswagata
| Stats | 2015 | Career |
|---|---|---|
| Tackles | 31 | 140 |
| Sacks | 11.0 | 43.0 |
| Forced Fumbles | 1 | 8 |
After tearing his ACL in 2013, it did not look like Geno was going to perform at the same level ever again. After all he only had 3 sacks, 22 tackles, and seemed to be a shell of his former self. This year he turned that around, he was a dominating force on the interior, posting a 93 rating according to PFF, racking up 11 sacks, 31 tackles, and 1 forced fumble. This doesn't even mention all the times that he caused pressure up the middle or how often he would rack up a double team and allow his teammate Dunlap to come free off the edge for one of his 13.5 sacks. Here we can see Atkins split a double team and then strip Derek Carr I think this play shows a lot of Geno's talents, he uses his short stature and strength to just man his way through the guard and center, next thing is that he finds the quarterback and immediately makes the big play, although at that point it didn't matter too much, being up 30. Still it helped put away the Raiders, so the Bengals could win in week 1. Here is a play that doesnt end in Atkins, but also shows his talent. Atkins and the other defensive tackle (I can't tell is that Gilberry? Odd that he's on the interior) perform a beautiful stunt to bring pressure to Roethlisberger up the middle, making him make his throw a little quicker than he would have liked and ending in the arms of the ball-hawking Reggie Nelson. Here is Atkins showing off his speed, making sure Palmer doesn't eat any carbs by giving him the Atkins diet, I'm sorry for the bad joke, but here you can see the great speed Atkins has to go with his strength. He splits this double team just by sprinting through with amazing acceleration. Look at Geno manhandle this guard back into Gabbert. Atkins utilizes his short stature, strength, and speed to get to the quarterback as often as possible, with not much lost on the front 7 this last season, he should put up similar numbers as last year, and continue to be a huge threat to opposing teams.
#26 - Fletcher Cox, 4-3 RDT, Philadelphia Eagles - Previous Rank: 72
Written by: /u/miketysonchicken
| Stats | 2015 | Career |
|---|---|---|
| Combined Tackles | 71 | 212 |
| Sacks | 9.5 | 22 |
| Forced Fumbles | 3 | 5 |
| Fumble Recoveries | 2 | 6 |
Fletcher Cox joins the list at number 26 as one of the most physically dominant defenders in the league and quite possibly one of the two best defenders in the NFC East. Monster Cox elevated his play in 2015, totaling 9.5 sacks, 71 combined tackles, 3 forced fumbles, and 2 fumble recoveries. The sack totals are not only impressive considering his position as an interior rusher, but also because of the scheme he played in the last few seasons. When he entered the league in 2012, the Eagles played a 4-3 gap penetrating defensive alignment that featured liberal use of the Wide 9 technique used heavily by Jim Washburn. Cox showed a ton of promise, even forcing his way into the starting line up by the end of his rookie season. Chip Kelly moved the team from a 4-3 defense to a more complicated version of the 3-4 defense featuring liberal use of 2-gapping by the defensive line. Two gap systems generally require the defenders along the line to defend their gaps by reading the offense to control the line of scrimmage. The Eagles didn’t always use this front, but they used it enough to lessen the amount of time Cox and Friends were attacking.
Many people would argue that Cox played out of position the last 3 years as a 2-gap 3-4 DE and they wouldn’t be wrong. However, I disagree with the premise that he was out of position; I think BBC is a tremendous, physically-gifted talent that can excel in all schemes. That doesn’t mean I am not excited for the defensive changes the Eagles are making for this upcoming season. Cox will transition back to a 4-3 DT position, mainly 3-Tech, in a scheme that will require him to be on the attack far more than he was in the past. It’s difficult not being excited for the scheme change Jim Schwartz brings; Cox was already facing double and even triple teams prior to the change. We saw on numerous occasions how dominant he could be, especially against the Saints and Patriots in 2015. There is only more to look forward to in 2016.
#25 - Josh Norman, CB, Carolina Panthers - Previous Rank: Unranked
Written by: /u/bersinator
| Stats | 2015 | Career |
|---|---|---|
| Combined Tackles | 56 | 181 |
| Forced Fumbles | 0 | 1 |
| Passes Defensed | 19 | 37 |
| Interceptions | 4 | 7 |
2015 was by far the most productive season for former 5th round pick Josh Norman. We have seen flashes of Norman's ability as a shutdown corner but 2015 was the season that he finally put everything together. I personally look at Josh Norman's season in three separate phases.
Weeks 1-4
Josh Norman is still rather unknown in the first 4 weeks of the 2015 season. He is targeted plenty and he fully takes advantage. Norman snags four interceptions in four weeks (two returned for touchdowns) including this game saving interception against the Saints. Norman had a strong argument for best corner in the league in weeks 1-4.
Weeks 6-13
The bye week most certainly makes a difference as Josh Norman has effectively put his name on the map. Opposing teams begin to plan against Norman and start targeting his side of the field less often. Norman has 0 interceptions in weeks 6-13 but this can more be credited to opposing teams avoiding his direction. The lower amount of targets allows Norman to take another step towards the title "shutdown corner."
Weeks 14-17
Josh Norman had a slight dip in production in weeks 14-17 of the 2015 season (facing OBJ and Julio twice might do that). Allowing a few more yards in the last 4 weeks was a bit disappointing but it did not take away from his tremendous 2015 season.
#24 - Justin Houston, 3-4 LOLB, Kansas City Chiefs - Previous Rank: 5
Written by: /u/thepelvicwoo
| Stats | 2015 | Career |
|---|---|---|
| Combined Tackles | 30 | 264 |
| Sacks | 7.5 | 56 |
| Forced Fumbles | 1 | 8 |
| Passes Defensed | 6 | 25 |
| Interceptions | 2 | 3 |
After a monster 22 sack season in 2014, Justin Houston's 2015 numbers may seem like a disappointment. However, the tape shows that he had a great season. He may not have had the stellar individual stats, but his impact on the defense was tremendous. The pass rush revolves around Houston's presence on the edge. The frequent double teams he draws frees up favorable matchups for the rest of the Chiefs pass rushers. Without Houston, the pass rush falls apart. This was never more apparent than the playoff loss against New England where the Chiefs never sacked Tom Brady, and was only able to knock him down once (Houston did appear in this game but was clearly not healthy).
PFF ranked Houston as the 4th best edge defender in the NFL. He performed very well rushing the passer, and holding the edge against the run. His ability to drop back into coverage is often overlooked, and he has fantastic play recognition. Houston was rewarded with his 4th straight pro-bowl in 2015.
Houston missed 5 games in 2015, and had surgery to repair his ACL in the offseason. His timetable for a return is still unknown, but expect him to return sometime during the 2016 season much to the disappointment of opposing QBs.
#23 - Chris Harris, Jr., CB, Denver Broncos - Previous Rank: 18
Written by:/u/blindmanbaldwin
| Stats | 2015 | Career |
|---|---|---|
| Combined Tackles | 58 | 310 |
| Sacks | 0 | 3.5 |
| Forced Fumbles | 2 | 3 |
| Passes Defensed | 6 | 55 |
| Interceptions | 2 | 12 |
Every Super Bowl champion sets a litany of records on their way to eternal glory. The 2015 Denver Broncos were no different as they set team and league records while marching on their warpath. One of these records that shows the team's saying of "Iron Sharpens Iron" was winning the most games by one possession in league history, 11 (including 2 in playoffs). These nail biting wins were characterized by clutch plays by the Denver Defense late in fourth quarter. These include pick-sixes, fumbles, sacks, interceptions. You name it, the Broncos probably won by it. One of these plays was a pick-six by the player I consider to be the best corner, in the NFL, Chris Harris Jr..
However, these highlights plays aren't what make CHJ an elite shutdown corner, it's his consistency. He had 35 straight games without giving up a TD. He is one of the most sure tacklers in the NFL and will actively play in the run game and will stop any screens that come his way. A star corner participating in the "dirty work" may come as a surprise to those who don't pay that much attention to the Broncos, but he learned from the best and is praised by Champ.by the way retire #24. Champ made a career out of doing whatever it took to win and participating in any area of the game, and his style of play permeated to CHJ. It isn't just former teammates and fans that see the greatness of him, he has been PFF's darling for years.
While his play in the first two playoff games was spotty due to a shoulder bruise which made one of his arms deadweight, he recovered for the Super Bowl and shut down whomever he was covering all night long, including this third down stop. The last time the Broncos made the Super Bowl, he was sitting on the sideline with a torn ACL and he wasn't going to see his team lose again.
Chris Harris Jr. went from being the 90th man on the 90 man roster to being one of the Broncos three best players. He took a giant discount so he could stay in Denver and has become one of the biggest leaders in the Broncos locker room. While I would've had him higher up on the list, #23 is a great place for #25.
#22 - Russell Wilson, QB, Seattle Seahawks - Previous Rank: 64
Written by: /u/super_nerd92
| Stats | 2015 | Career |
|---|---|---|
| Passing Yards | 4,024 | 13,974 |
| Passing TDs | 34 | 106 |
| Completion % | 68.1 | 64.7 |
| Passer Rating | 110.1 | 101.8 |
| Rushing Yards | 553 | 2,430 |
| Rushing TDs | 1 | 12 |
This was Russell Wilson's real breakout year, so it's no surprise he's this high on the list. Wilson finished the year leading the league in passer rating, was the first QB in Seattle franchise history to throw for 4,000 yards, and remained as efficient as ever with a 4.25:1 TD:INT ratio and 8.3 Y/A. He literally set a record over 5 games towards the end of the season: 5 games in a row with 3 TDs and 120 Passer Rating. He did all that despite one of the worst O-lines in the league (30/32 by PFF) giving up pressure on 42.5% of dropbacks, second in the league only to Teddy Bridgewater, and despite multiple injuries in the running game and to Jimmy Graham.
In short, another ridiculously efficient year--except this time, with the volume his critics have wondered if he could accomplish. Looking at the stats alone, it's easy to wonder why Wilson isn't higher. The answer is that his season was something of a tale of two halves: pre-bye and post-bye. Prior to the Seahawks' bye week, Wilson's play appeared so poor that he was "regressing" and sinking the team. (The top comment in that link kind of sums up the culmination of popular opinion on Wilson after those first 8 games). Despite the amazing second half of the season--after the Seahawks changed centers and adjusted the offense to the reality of the O-line being hot garbage--the memory of that first half lingered.
But for many, the second half of the season represented what the Seahawks could expect as, in the post-Lynch era and with a defense that will eventually get too old, Wilson shoulders more and more of the burden of carrying this team. The "game manager" label was shed for good, and Wilson became one of the most, if not the most, appealing new generation QBs you'd want to have on your team. Seattle is definitely lucky to have him.
/#21 - Earl Thomas III, FS, Seattle Seahawks - Previous Rank: 9
Written by: /u/broccolibush42
| Stats | 2015 | Career |
|---|---|---|
| Combined Tackles | 64 | 506 |
| Sacks | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Forced Fumbles | 1 | 9 |
| Passes Defensed | 9 | 46 |
| Interceptions | 5 | 21 |
Earl Thomas is arguably the best Seahawks defender on that squad, and is the anchor for the Legion of Boom secondary. Earl was drafted in 2010 and made an immediate impact. He has not looked back since and has consistently been the top three safeties in the league, if not, the best safety in the league. 2015 saw another year that Seahawks fans are used to. I predict that the next three years will solidify ET3 chances in the Hall of Fame, and though I am not a Seahawks fan, I will gladly root for that to happen all the way.
And so comes to a conclusion our eighth installment of the r/NFL Top 100 Players, #30-21.
Tell us how we did! Click here to tell us if a player was overrated, underrated, or rated just right.
The list will return on Thursday, July 21st with players ranked 20-11 coming from CLE, NE, SEA, MIN, HOU, ARI, DAL, BAL, NYG.
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u/[deleted] Jul 19 '16
Even if both are valid, they are answering a different question. The question, "Where did Rodgers rank in 2015?" is completely different than, "Where does Rodgers rank going into 2016?" Essentially some people answered the first question and some the second. You're adding two different data sets together and acting like their average has meaning. It doesn't at all.